Last updated: 15 August 2026. Prices checked 15 August 2026 and move often; treat them as a guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s the thing the modem aisle doesn’t tell you: most NBN connections don’t need a modem at all. If you’re on FTTP or HFC, the modem is the NBN box on your wall and all you need behind it is a router, which is why buying a “modem router” for those connections wastes money on a DSL chip you’ll never use. The only people who genuinely need a modem router are FTTN and FTTB households, where the VDSL2 modem is the box doing the heavy lifting. Sort out which you are first (our connection types guide<\/a> shows how to check), then buy accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any decent Wi-Fi 6 router works, and for whole home coverage the smarter spend is usually a mesh system with the main unit doing router duty; our mesh guide<\/a> has the current picks from $499. If your provider offered you a modem router for $10 a month, this is why you can usually skip it on these connection types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reviews.org’s testing rates the VX420-G2v the best of the modem routers providers sell as plan add-ons, and the pricing through providers is the cheap way in: TPG lists it at $114.95 and Dodo at $159.90 as add-ons at the time of writing. It handles every NBN technology, does Wi-Fi 6, and supports a phone port for those who still want one. The catch: provider-supplied units are provider-configured, so check it’ll be unlocked if you later switch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The retail sibling adds a 4G SIM slot for mobile failover and sells for around $499 at Australian IT retailers (down from $549 where we checked). That’s a lot for FTTN gear, but the 4G backup makes it the FTTN answer to the failover setups WFH households build; pair the thinking with our outage checker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NetComm NF20MESH turns up cheap from several providers and covers every connection type; reviews at WhistleOut and Reviews.org rate it middling, with early speeds fine and opinions split on long term reliability. If your provider throws one in free, use it; if you’re paying, the TP-Link is the better spend. Whirlpool’s community-maintained FTTN compliant modem list<\/a> is the reference for everything else that works on VDSL2.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFTTP, HFC, fixed wireless: you just need a router<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
FTTN and FTTB: the VDSL2 modem router picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The provider add-on: TP-Link VX420-G2v<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The retail version: TP-Link VX420-G2h<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The cheap seats: provider modems and the NetComm NF20MESH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n